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Percy
Trouble in the Shed |last_appearance = Thomas and his Friends |creator(s) = Rev. W. Awdry |uk_voice_actor = Keith Wickham Nigel Pilkington Christopher Ragland |us_voice_actor = Martin Sherman Christopher Ragland |other_voice_actors = Linda Ballantyne Michael Angelis |name = Percy |nicknames = *Percy The Small Engine *Percy The Green Engine * Green Caterpillar with Red Stripes (Thomas) *Useless Little Bug (by Cranky) *Mite (by Cranky) *Steaming Lump of Scrap Iron (Lorry 2) *Little Green Goblin on Wheels (Lorry 1) *Slow Coach/Pokey Percy (James) *Scary Jack Frost (James) *Dirty Percy (Gordon, Thomas and the trucks) *Pudding/Bon Bon Percy (James) |gender = Male |country_of_origin = * England * Island of Sodor |affiliation = * Thomas' Branch Line * Steam Team |basis = Avonside Saddle Tank |gauge = |power_type = Steam |vehicle = Locomotive |type = Saddle tank engine |fuel_type = Coal |Configuration = 0-4-0ST |wheels = 4 |top_speed = 45 mph |designer(s) = Avonside Engine Company |builder(s) = Avonside Locomotive Works |year_built = Unknown |arrived_on_sodor = Between 1925 and 1935 |number = NWR 6 |railway = North Western Railway |owner(s) = Sir Topham Hatt }} Percy is a green saddle tank engine who was brought to Sodor to help run the railway during the big engines' strike. He is one of the youngest engines on the North Western Railway and is quite cheeky, often getting himself into trouble with his attempts to play tricks on the other engines. Percy's favourite job is to deliver the mail, and he works on Thomas' Branch Line as a goods engine. Biography Percy was most likely built by the Avonside Engine Company sometime around the 1900's and had a subsequent rebuild in the period before he was sold second-hand to the North Western Railway by a factory on the Mainland. He is said to have been found to contain Hunslet parts, among others, according to workers at Crovan's Gate. When Gordon, James and Henry went on strike in protest of extra work after Thomas' departure to run his branch line, the Fat Controller decided the railway needed another tank engine. At the engine workshop, the Fat Controller saw a green saddle tank. When the engine confirmed he was willing to work hard, the Fat Controller bought him and named him Percy. Bringing him back to Sodor, Percy was charged with running the branch line while Thomas ran the Main Line with Edward and was allowed to stay after the big engines surrendered and returned to work. At first, Percy liked to annoy the big engines. Percy was later waiting at Knapford, but forgot to whistle to the signalman and thus was startled when Gordon came running towards him with the express. Gordon managed to stop in time, but Percy was so frightened, he ran away and ended up stuck in a sandbank. He was rescued by Gordon and took up the duty of station pilot at Tidmouth. Percy was still a cheeky engine and often liked to play jokes on Gordon and James, but one day the other engines got their revenge when Percy failed to recognise a "backing signal". After this, Percy was subject to bullying from the big engines until Duck arrived and helped Percy to put the big engines in their place, although Percy still received a reprimand from the Fat Controller for it. With Duck's arrival, Percy was sent to Thomas' Branch Line to help build Knapford Harbour and has stayed there ever since as a goods engine. He met a self-centred white helicopter named Harold who said that railways were "slow and out-of-date", so he decided to race him, of which he won. When Percy had to take the Sunday School children home, he came across a flooded paddock which swashed away his fire. Thankfully, with a little help from Harold, who had dropped supplies of hot drinks for his crew and the passengers, he was able to get the children home. Despite being really useful, Percy was prone to having accidents, sometimes for acting naughty and others for carelessness. He was naughty when he asked the trucks to push him past a danger notice, only to end up in the water until he could be lifted out and taken to the works by Henry. When a diesel railcar named Daisy came to look after Thomas' Branch Line, she constantly kept leaving behind the milk van every time Percy shunted it for her. Fed up with taking the milk for her, Percy offered to take Toby's trucks for him while he took the milk. However, the trucks were unfamiliar with Percy and when he ordered them about, they decided to seek revenge by pushing him onto a line of stone trucks. Personality Percy is a cheeky but kind engine. He normally behaves well, yet he also gets himself in trouble by jumping into situations without adequately thinking them through first. He loves teasing other engines, especially bigger ones such as Gordon and James, but is always brought down to earth in due course by anyone who gives him the moral to learn, especially the Fat Controller. He can also be somewhat timid. As the television series has progressed, Percy has been dumbed-down in order to teach viewers difficult words: he would say "dingy-fried" whereas anyone else would say "dignified", "demonstration" into "dimer-station", "railway inspector" into "railway inspectacles", etc. Percy is incredibly accident-prone and has many accidents, sometimes due to his own silliness or his tricks backfiring. He holds the dubious record of the most accidents in one series - five; all of which happened in the second series - crashing into some buffers, falling into the sea, being pushed onto a brake van, colliding with a cart of lime and being hit by a falling crate of treacle. So far, his silliest accident yet was in the sixth series, when he slipped on oily rails and crashed through the chocolate factory and emerged covered in chocolate. Despite this, he always tries to do his best, learn from his mistakes and get his jobs done, a loyalty which Sir Topham Hatt has praised him for on many occasions. Although their friendship has been turbulent at times, Thomas is generally portrayed as Percy's best friend and is also good friends with Toby as well. While he has a small rivalry with Harold, stemming from their race, they are always willing to help each other when in trouble. Percy can also be seen as an easy target for teasing by the big engines, especially whenever he has an accident or when he is afraid of something. He also has held a grudge from them about their tricking him into misinterpreting a signal, but silenced this with some help from Duck. This shows that, when nonsense goes too far, Percy will not stand for it and seek help to settle the matter for good, even if he faces a reprimanding from Sir Topham Hatt for it. Technical Details Basis Percy is an 0-4-0 saddle tank believed to have been built originally by the Avonside Engine Company of Bristol but prior to being purchased second or third hand by Sir Topham Hatt he acquired components from Hunslet of Leeds and other builders. File:PercyAvonsideTrojanBasis.jpg|Avonside Engine Company, Percy's basis File:Hunslet0-4-0PercyBasis.jpg|0-4-0 Hunslet Percy basis Livery Percy is painted in NWR apple green with red and yellow lining. His number is painted on the sides of his cab in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow. In the Railway Series, he carries two builder's plates on the sides of his cab. Appearances * Thomas and the Evil Diesel * Thomas and the Hurricane Companion Volumes * 1972 - The Railway Series: Surprise Packet * 1976 - Famous Engines * 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways * 2005 - Sodor: Reading Between the Lines }} Category:Steam Locomotives Category:Tank Engines Category:North Western Railway Category:Green Engines